Posts by nimbleranger5

hiddenpuma75 🙂
Honestly, props to you for those interesting posts—I really enjoy reading them. Most of the time, I find myself agreeing with you, too, because you bring such a spontaneous, natural, and common-sense perspective to all sorts of life topics. You’re a total breath of fresh air on this forum.

Just keep doing what you're doing, my friend 👍

For anyone looking to get the real story behind this orchestrated circus happening globally right now—including here in the States—here is some info. You won't hear a word about this from the mainstream media or our politicians, and honestly, I have to wonder why they're keeping it quiet.

The woman laid it all out. 👍

Brandon Foster7 said:We can actually curb our own biases just by calling them out when they happen.
There's a huge difference between past experience, raw prejudice, and an actual new situation.
Sure, experience helps, and we’ll probably be right most of the time if we use it to judge a new scenario. But sometimes we screw up big time because instead of seeing things for what they really are, we just force everything into old, dusty boxes.
It takes a lot of headspace and staying chill to make sure our biases don't ruin our lives, but rather actually make them better.

I totally agree with this—short and sweet.👍

Lawrence Torres56 said:Just be careful that you don't use some quick-fix method to just shove all those prejudices deep down inside where they can fester, because if they ever decide to erupt all at once, you might just pop like a kernel of popcorn in a microwave...
Honestly, I’m much more on board with the approach laid out by zoki89 "We can shed our biases naturally, as our consciousness, empathy, and understanding grow over time"....

This is definitely something worth considering, too. I agree.

Any kind of suppression eventually triggers a backlash, which is super harmful. Rather than jumping to conclusions blindly or rushing things, I think being mindful and working toward a deeper, fuller understanding is a much better path.
🙂

Nicholas Gonzalez8 said:Look, you can't just force yourself to stop being biased—it doesn't work that way. It’s more like... I don't know, maybe growing a garden? You can't yell at a seed to grow faster; if you try to force it, you're just going to end up crushing the damn thing.
Real change happens at its own pace, as we actually build up some awareness, empathy, and a bit of common sense. If you try to rush the process, all you're doing is burying those old prejudices even deeper.

I'm with you on that, though I think it also depends on whose prejudices we're talking about—whether they belong to someone else or if they're truly ours.

When it comes to other people's biases, we can let them go right HERE and NOW. For me, that means making a conscious, firm decision not to view or judge anything through the lens of someone else's "knowledge" or experience. Their perspective is subjective—it's shaped by their upbringing, society, surroundings, education, culture, and even how mature they are—so it isn't absolute. Real insight, in my eyes, has to come from within. We learn best by experiencing things firsthand, and that's the only thing that feels truly valid to me. That’s why we need to stay open to every single experience, whether it turns out to be "good" or "bad."
At the end of the day, you can't walk in someone else's shoes.

As for our own internal biases, we can tackle those right HERE and NOW too. We do that by refusing to blindly trust our own minds—by not letting every "bad" experience we have get projected onto the next one. If we don't do that, we'll just stay trapped in a cycle of constant fear and submission.

Frank Flores63 said:My prejudices are rooted in actual, firsthand bad experiences, and I view them as a necessary compass for navigating life. So, why on earth would I want to just cast them aside? ☕

The author also touches on those unfounded prejudices—the ones where someone else serves us their own views, attitudes, or experiences. We then instinctively swallow that outside knowledge and treat it as our own. We end up resisting things that might actually be incredibly pleasant or positive for us, only to later realize how naive we were to accept someone else's "bad" experience as our own truth.🤔
In reality, those kinds of prejudices are just manifestations of the ego's fear of the unknown—basically, a fear of losing the security found in the familiar.

It seems to me that the author is suggesting we stay open-minded. We shouldn't judge something based on someone else's negative opinion, or even our own past setbacks, because doing so closes us off to something new. Maybe that "bad" experience was actually meant to teach us something or broaden our horizons—so maybe it wasn't even that "bad," right? Sometimes, a slap in the face (a "bad" experience) is just the Universe expressing unconditional love.
Truthfully, there is no such thing as a "bad" or "good" experience; there is only our impression of it—our own opinion or attitude toward what happened.

So why would you want to free yourself from them? ☕

What if those prejudices—those "bad" life lessons you've endured—are actually keeping you locked away from much more beautiful experiences?
What if, deep down, it's just a subconscious fear preventing you from trying something new? That prejudice might just be a projection of your mind, mapping one old experience onto a completely different situation. We end up avoiding things (without even knowing what) just to ensure we don't repeat a past mistake.

Take, for example, being afraid of something because your mind tells you that if you act (or don't act) a certain way, something "bad" will happen. Your mind projects a past scenario onto a future one that hasn't even occurred yet, effectively shutting the door on an experience that has absolutely nothing to do with the past. Every single experience is unique and unrepeatable. No two moments are ever identical.

But the mind is tethered to the past. It’s made up of everything we've learned, all our conditioning, our entire history—all this baggage stuck to us that prevents us from truly living and finding joy in the present moment.

Our minds are always looking toward the future through the lens of the past. But if a person could somehow step beyond the mind—if they could just step out, let go, and allow everything to unfold as it unfolds, without regret, without complaining, without trying to control, criticize, judge, worry, provoke, hope, or expect... if they could just *live*... man, if only we could do that... yeah...

Michelle Williams17 said:Greetings! 😁
To those who believe change is impossible—those who insist that being prejudiced against the unknown is simply part of human nature—I kindly ask that you refrain from commenting below. Thank you. 🙂
Now, for those who believe we must liberate ourselves from all preconceptions, recognizing that biases provide nothing but a distorted and fundamentally incorrect view of reality until true understanding is reached, please read on. 😁

Since we live in this technological age where everyone possesses smartphones and computers (at least enough to access 😁), I suggest you record a few principles on your devices and read them daily until they are deeply ingrained:
1. I will refuse to harbor any prejudices, for such biases only serve to make a person shallow and narrow-minded; the absolute truth is only revealed once everything is thoroughly understood.
2. If I lack knowledge regarding a subject, I will not allow anyone else's opinion to shape my own, lest I fall victim to mere prejudice once again.
3. Nothing in life is ever purely black or white. Behind every single circumstance lies a vast multitude of complex causes and reasons. We must always strive to find the most rational and humane explanation for every situation, whether it affects us or others, for that is where the true cause resides.

I hope these reflections prove useful to someone. 🙂

Right back at you! 🙂

Thank you so much for sharing this—it was beautifully put. 👍

Real, true insight always comes from within; anything else is just dead knowledge.

Daniel Castillo11 said:I certainly didn't walk into this forum under the impression that I was going to come in here and bend the truth or reshape reality to suit my whims. I don't possess that kind of arrogance, nor, if I'm being perfectly honest, do I have any particular interest in playing such games.

I never actually suggested that there is such a thing as "special people" who possess more inherent value than the rest of us, nor did I ever imply that anyone should be viewed as less worthy because of any perceived shortcomings—be they physical or otherwise. It seems we’ve simply had a bit of a misunderstanding in how my words were interpreted.

You’ve certainly laid out a compelling argument there. If we follow your line of reasoning to its logical conclusion, an individual being "chosen" implies a conscious selection process—an intentional act carved out from among countless billions of life forms. Just try to wrap your head around the sheer magnitude of that decision; imagine the staggering complexity and the cosmic scale of the criteria required to make such a choice. Can one even begin to fathom a level of processing power or authority that vast? If we accept that something or someone has been selected, then it follows that the universe—or perhaps some conscious entity steering the ship—must possess a distinct preference. It suggests that at the very beginning, everything was placed within a specific metaphysical context or position. If geniuses are essentially gifted their brilliance by God, and if they are indeed "the chosen ones," then how exactly does that selection occur? What is the metric? Why wouldn't that same spark have been bestowed upon someone else instead? By your logic, if a person is truly chosen, they are stepping into a role akin to a messiah, tasked with steering the evolution of human society. And if that is the case, they would inherently hold a more significant, privileged station within the cosmos. But this leaves us with a profound question: among all the famous creators, inventors, and scientists we know, how could anyone possibly discern which ones were actually selected and which were simply lucky?

What should we make of those anonymous geniuses—those brilliant minds who simply never had the opportunity to step into the spotlight, or perhaps just couldn't fight the uphill battle to ensure their voices were actually heard? Because of that silence, we remain entirely unaware of them, and naturally, we don't go around labeling them as "special" or legendary. But if there truly exist individuals who have been hand-picked by God, yet they possess absolutely no influence over the trajectory of society, then one has to wonder: what exactly is their purpose? Since we are already drifting into the deep waters of discussing the concept of purpose itself, I find myself questioning why such greatness would exist without an audience.

Now, I don't mean to imply that there was any malice behind your reasoning—I truly believe you were just following a thread of thought—but if we were to strictly adhere to the logic you’re presenting, we run into a rather heavy philosophical dilemma. It suggests that every single human existence must possess an inherent purpose or a specific design, implying that people essentially "earn" the hand they are dealt in life. If we follow that path, one has to ask: what kind of merit could a child born with severe cognitive disabilities possibly have earned to justify such a struggle? Is that individual somehow responsible for their own condition, or is there a higher consciousness, perhaps even God, who holds the ultimate responsibility for how life is distributed? If we accept your premise, then we are forced to conclude that every instance of human suffering, along with every social injustice we witness, is ultimately the direct responsibility of a higher power from above.

There are certain individuals among us who possess truly extraordinary capabilities. Take, for instance, those on the autism spectrum—specifically those with Asperger's—who often demonstrate such remarkable cognitive prowess. Throughout history, we have seen many recorded as true geniuses, serving as a profound source of inspiration for much of humanity. One might wonder, how are such people "chosen"? Is there some higher design at play? In my view, the answer lies not in a preordained selection by some divine supervisor, but rather in a highly unique confluence of social and genetic factors. For a person to develop such a specific psychological profile, allowing them to dedicate themselves so intensely to their pursuits, there must be a precise foundation in place. It isn't something that simply falls from the sky; instead, it is the cumulative result of various circumstances, shaped by the interplay of natural and social forces, as well as the slow, steady hand of natural evolutionary selection.

Technically speaking, we stand at a threshold where we could potentially engineer a genius through genetic manipulation and eugenics. If that becomes our reality, it raises a rather profound question: can we still say a genius is someone chosen by God? It’s a heavy thought, isn't it? Imagine if we could essentially manufacture a figure like Nikola Tesla within the controlled environment of a laboratory, carefully selecting and stitching together specific genes to ensure they possess the exact cognitive traits and personality predispositions required for greatness. If we can bypass the slow, winding path of natural evolution to achieve such results, one has to wonder where the divine intention fits into the equation. Where does the hand of God reside when we start playing architect with the very blueprint of human brilliance?

Moving forward... look, I am certainly not suggesting that extraordinary or brilliant individuals don't exist. It is simply that I find myself at odds with your specific interpretation of what makes someone "special." Your entire perspective seems to hinge on the idea of purpose and intent. My contention, however, is that the cosmos and the natural world remain entirely indifferent to our frantic human attempts to manufacture meaning. The universe doesn't operate according to some pre-ordained master plan; rather, it functions through the fundamental laws of cause and effect—or, if you prefer the language of spiritualists, karma. This implies there is no need for a supernatural catalyst behind nature. Nature is perfectly sufficient unto itself; it is an ultra-complex, self-correcting, and self-regulating system that requires no external intervention to maintain its course.

How can you be so certain that this indifferent universe possesses any inherent meaning, purpose, or grand design specifically for humanity? What is a human being, truly, within this vast, unending expanse? I suspect you might be conflating a subjective sense of personal meaning—those individual reasons why one chooses to live—with a belief in an objective, absolute, and supernatural purpose.

This is how you see it:

View on imgur

Your assertion that God does not exist—and frankly, since you don't even know who my God actually is, your claim is moot—is merely your own opinion. Since you lack any empirical evidence to support it, your viewpoint holds very little weight in a serious intellectual discussion.

I seem to recall you rambling about extraterrestrials elsewhere, for which you also possess zero proof, so... at the end of the day, we are simply never going to see eye to eye.

And since you insist that there are no "chosen" people, tell me: do we not have figures today like Buddha, Mozart, Einstein, Nikola Tesla, or Jesus Christ?

We certainly do. However, they aren't significant to the universe or to nature itself; they are significant only to human beings, who are perpetually searching for someone onto whom they can project their desires, needs, and comforts. Humans are, by their very nature, slaves to their impulses and social hierarchies. We are particularly prone to becoming subordinates to spiritual or religious authorities. Just because certain individuals stand out within human society does not mean they are indispensable or hold any greater importance within the natural order of things. In many cases, some of them were simply well-marketed. If it hadn't been for the aggressive evangelists and the religious fanatics tearing through the Roman Empire, no one would even know about Jesus. He would have remained a local story—something that, had newspapers existed back then, might have barely made it into two lines of some mediocre tabloid. Similarly, if corporations hadn't pushed and pressured Tesla to collaborate with businessmen and sociopaths, we wouldn't even recognize his name today. Everything ultimately depends on who you know, your social circle, how stubborn you are, and your ability to navigate the complexities of human society. But all of this happens through natural means—biological and social evolution—without any hint of magic involved.

Does Jesus Christ really have NO influence on this world? Just what kind of world are you living in? There are BILLIONS of people for whom He is the very meaning of life, and His words are read daily, not just in churches, if you must know.

Even Harry Potter has positively influenced millions of people. Should we build cathedrals and establish religions in his name too? Don't you see the absurdity in that logic? Furthermore, you are talking about a subjective sense of meaning—an individual's reason for existing. I am speaking about objective meaning. There is no objective meaning or purpose to life, nor is there any requirement for one to exist.

No, they weren't "chosen." It’s just a massive coincidence that they happened to possess exactly what none of us sitting here today have, and apparently, this just fell into their laps like some sort of cosmic accident without any underlying cause. Honestly, it's a rather "brilliant" bit of logic if you think about it. Best, 🙂

Of course it's a coincidence. You see, without the human mind to interpret things, there are no gods, no inherent meanings, and certainly no grand intentions. If you strip humanity out of the equation, it becomes quite clear that nature itself possesses neither a personality nor a consciousness; we are simply the ones projecting those qualities onto it. Even in our everyday American vernacular, we often say things like "nature intended it this way," as if the wilderness actually harbors a conscious will. In reality, that's just a linguistic shorthand—a convention of speech—that shouldn't be taken as a literal truth.

Then just leave us alone and let us wander through our own theories—don't feel the need to tear down our concepts or dismantle our views. Let ideas fall apart on their own, naturally. If you can't see the purpose or the point in them, that's on you—but why does that drive you to constantly jump into threads to lecture us with things we didn't ask to hear? Just let it go. Let us find our own sense of meaning and satisfaction in our own way. 😁

Maybe meaning exists, maybe it doesn't—who's really to say? Or maybe you're convinced you have the answer, which leads you to wake up the whole board just to "correct" people by pushing "your" truth—which is really just a product of your own imagination because it aligns with what modern science says, or what scientists claim, or what *you* claim, etc.

Still, you seem to be subtly trying to push your own agenda, and there's a bit of a patronizing tone to it—you tend to look down on others and toss out these "truths" as if they're absolute facts.

@tehuti

...
Of course it's chance.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:If a person fails to recognize the actual cause and purpose, they’ll just make one up on the spot—and then convince themselves it’s the truth, which is quite a way to soothe the ego, isn't it?
😲😁

Where did such an intellect come from for Tesla? Was it from God? Or was it simply a matter of being born that way by pure chance?

Chance is nothing more than just another law of the universe that we haven't figured out yet. 😲 🙂

Larry Moore83 said:And now I love you all!

🙂

Once again—unconditional love is just sweeping through this forum🙂

🙂

Long live love!🙂

frozengull2 said:man;

...God doesn't exist... There’s no choice, there’s no universal objective meaning.

Everything in nature—how things behave and grow—is just driven by these insanely complex math algorithms.

Honestly, anything people claim about nature that isn't backed up by actual, hard observation is just guesswork at best, or just humans being full of themselves and projecting our own traits onto the world at worst.

But look, isn't the mere fact that matter in the universe "just organized itself" (like, randomly fell into place... despite the law of entropy!?) to the point where it eventually formed humans—who then spend their entire lives obsessively questioning why they even exist and treating that question like the most important thing ever—kind of a sign that existence might actually have a purpose?
Just a tiny bit?
Where does that drive in us even come from?
We call ourselves "randomly high-organized matter" (aka humans) , yet when faced with this desperate need to find meaning, we’re capable of totally ignoring our basic biological needs just to stay true to that search; we starve, we suffer, we sacrifice our own lives, basically going against every single instinctual process dictated by our chemistry, hormones, and everything else inside us.

If nothing else, just because of that one fact alone, you shouldn't just toss the idea of purpose out the window.

Anyway; what even made the universe (space-time and all that baggage) in the first place, and how can you say you know?
Can anyone actually explain or wrap their head around what space-time is truly contained within... where it actually comes from?
Oh, so quantum physicists explained that, you say!?
And what exactly is their "knowledge" based on? How do they prove it?
Theories and hypotheses?
And why are those hypotheses somehow better than saying the source of creation is intelligent or meaningful?
Just because Hawking or Dawkins are the ones backing them up?
Give me a break.

When we hit that wall (the moment before space-time even existed), we all just go silent... we're all purely, strictly hypothetical.
Whether you're looking for meaning or arguing there is none.

Only someone incredibly stubborn would try to deny that reality.

So, I’m just gonna stick with my gut feeling.
I'm betting on meaning.
Even if it's just a hunch, I feel just as qualified to hypothesize about this as any big-shot quantum physicist.
Doesn't matter what their credentials are.

Facing something that exists outside the boundaries of our own existence, we’re all equally speechless.

The only difference between us is how arrogant or cocky we act while defending our own mental constructs (which, let's face it, can't be proven using space-time or material methods anyway).

Given everything I just said; meaning has an equal shot.

50:50

That's enough for me.

That works for me too 🙂

Really, really great post! 👍

Actually, none of this even exists, because everything is simultaneously everything and nothing ---> Everything is Nothing! Nothing is Everything! 🧐

Honestly, there’s no such thing as a "bad" student—there are just students. 🧐

Jeremy Scott said:They won't. But they can spark an interest in spirituality.

Enlightenment isn't happening if you aren't interested in the first place.

A "mentor" is someone who can show you the right "keys," though finding the real ones is a different story entirely.

You don't need to go looking.

The moment you're actually ready for a spiritual upgrade, a teacher always seems to show up out of nowhere. 😉

Honestly, maybe it only happens once you're completely drained—once you've let go of all those rigid concepts and the mental clutter we all carry around.

When you finally just move past—or transcend—the whole idea of "enlightenment" itself.

There are probably people who have never even heard the term, yet they’re living enlightened lives—just living authentically and in tune with nature.

You don't need to go looking for it.

The moment you're actually ready for a spiritual upgrade, some teacher always seems to pop up out of nowhere. 😉

Even if they turn out to be the "wrong" kind of teacher.😲 😁

frozengull2 said:Michael Gonzalez77;

People like you are exactly why organized religion feels so broken. Look, I’m not saying these institutions don't exist, but if there were more people actually *getting* it, the church would be a legitimate solution for most folks walking through those doors. Sadly, that’s just not how it works. And honestly? It’s not even the fault of the churches themselves—it’s the people inside them. It's the crowd showing up but ignoring every basic principle, sticking to nothing but the empty rituals and formalities.

To be totally real with you, I’m lightyears behind most of the people I see at church who actually inspire me.
I mean the actual believers living right here in my neck of the woods.
The level of being filled with the Holy Spirit they have—and everything else that comes in that package, like inner peace, joy, inspiration, seeing the world through spiritual eyes, emotional maturity, strength, humility, loving your neighbor and all that jazz... man, I’d give anything to reach that level myself.

So, what is it about you that makes you feel so much better than them?

I won't even pretend I didn't notice how you basically brag about it through your own posts.

It honestly fascinates me every single time how the ego always finds itself hit or called out—directly or indirectly—whenever someone expresses a perception of reality that doesn't quite align with their own. It’s like this intense need arises within that same ego to react and defend a belief system that it considers to be the absolute truth.

...and whether it’s actually true or not, well, nobody knows for sure—except God, of course. 🙂

Of course, it works the other way too, let's be clear—when one ego just coddles another ego that agrees with it and shares the same worldview.

Maybe it’s because you want to reach all those things so badly that they actually slip away from you. That desire for everything you see in someone else pulls you away from what is already inside you. You want something, and because you're chasing it, it stays just out of reach... and to truly "reach" what you listed earlier, you first have to accept everything in yourself that is the opposite of it. You have to honestly embrace your own inner darkness instead of just hunting for the things you wish you had.

...because, like Rumi would say, the more you search for peace, the more restlessness you find. Seek out the restlessness, and you will unexpectedly sink into a sea of tranquility.

frozengull2 said:Michael Gonzalez77;

Look, you gotta get one thing straight first:
No single person can ever be compared to anyone else when we're talking about spiritual stuff.

If that were true, it would mean there aren't any frauds in our neck of the woods (on the spiritual "market").
It would imply that every single snake oil salesman and "esoteric expert" walking these streets is actually legit.
And that human naivety is just some poetic metaphor used to scare little kids.

Everyone builds their own spirituality, so trying to compare people is totally pointless. Comparison usually happens in the material world; in the realm of the spirit, it's basically non-existent—it's just wrong.

So you're saying everyone just picks whatever fits their vibe.
Like shopping at a Walmart; grab a bit of this, a little bit of that... toss this out, keep that, ignore the third thing because it doesn't suit me, and maybe tweak or customize the part I actually like.
That's just enlightened, modern, individualistic-modular spirituality / spiritual engineering.
As many people as there are, that's how many different doctrines there are.
😵

The way people think... a person's unique way of thinking... is so incredibly individual that a single method like the Bible isn't enough to cover or solve it, unfortunately.

I couldn't disagree more.
Human thought and behavior are universally known patterns.
People are predictable, measurable, and honestly, pretty easy to manipulate.
We know exactly what motivates people, what keeps them up at night, how they react in certain situations, and all that.
That’s basically what applied psychology does, and it does it successfully.
If you actually take the time to study the Bible, you'll see it addresses and helps people transcend those exact behavioral patterns we're all slaves to.
Claiming you're somehow outside its framework sounds a bit like a stretch to me.
I think insisting that there are 7 billion uniquely individualized behaviors just isn't grounded in reality.

...that's not the fault of Hrostov's teachings, which I consider perfection, but rather the fault of the people who have spent centuries watering down the original Teaching and inserting all kinds of blasphemies into the scriptures themselves.

What kind of blasphemies did they add, or what spiritual truths did they strip away?
And who told you that?
Don't give me that nonsense about Jesus studying in India, hanging out with Indian sages and poring over the Vedas... right under the Himalayas. That ridiculous attempt to discredit Christianity is more suited for a late-night Discovery Channel show than a serious, open discussion.

On the other hand, I know that among most of those who call themselves spiritual representatives, there's a group that truly received their calling from within, and getting quality inspiration from them is possible, especially for people who are receptive (like you), but for the rest, it's just not like that. This isn't a judgment, it's just a fact; if it weren't true, the Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church, or any others, would have produced actual spiritual people by now (and they've had centuries to do it)—people who are open, well-meaning, sincere, virtuous in every sense without negative thoughts, people who are happy and full of understanding even for society's worst criminals. If that were the case, Christianity alone would have created nearly a billion saints.

Spiritual authenticity isn't some numbers game based on how many saints exist.
That’s just not how things work. This world we’re living in is this massive, complex, mind-bending mess—it’s overwhelming, if you ask me. As conscious beings, we’re being hit by all these influences that you can't just brush off or pretend don't matter. Your linear way of looking at it? It's just a lazy simplification. The spiritual struggle is heavy stuff; it demands way more than just having good intentions or checking a box.
Christianity didn't spit out a billion saints, but it did produce thousands of them. Just try honestly living by any of the principles that inspired them, or even just trying to follow their lead, and I guarantee you’ll see some spiritual progress.

Since that’s nowhere near the reality, that's where my opinion comes from. And it’s not about what the church *should* be, just like the idea of a democratic society is one thing, while how it actually plays out in real life is nowhere near hitting that mark.

Btw; what kind of doctrine or spiritual path are you even following... since you're basically devaluing Christian values just because a billion Christians aren't considered "holy"?
I'm genuinely curious.

If you view the church as the pillar of spiritual growth in this world and the people coming to it as top-tier individuals, that’s just your perspective. All I see is that the things I know about are way below that level.

Clearly, you've got high standards.
But hey, keep in mind that old saying: "The higher they fly, the harder they fall."
And I'm not talking about the intensity of your spiritual effort or your goals here, but rather the position you're judging from.

...like I said again, it's not about the idea of churches or temples or whatever, but because an individual's problems are way too complicated for a sermon in a church to just flip someone's mindset and free them from the patterns that cause negative thoughts, stress, and even chronic illnesses tied to how they think.

I get it, I get it... church seems like a boring place at first glance.
But look, the whole point of spiritual growth isn't about satisfying our natural craving for a little "high" or a trip (you know, that feeling where you want something to flash in your brain or give you some weird mental buzz), it's about how deeply it changes you as a person, connects you with your own conscience, and opens you up to the people around you.

I don't doubt there are noble people everywhere, whether in church ranks or outside of them, in Christianity or among those called atheists, in Buddhism or Hinduism, among scientists or just regular everyday folks.

I don't doubt it either.

I hope I've explained my conclusion clearly enough.

Yeah, thanks for getting back to me.

If you walk into a church in some town where people actually show up without their heavy psychological baggage—people who are just thriving in Life regardless of how much money they have, without any of that judgment, jealousy, vanity, hatred, envy, or those intense lustful urges, or even the constant ache and suffering—well, I pray to God we see more people like that in every church, steeple, temple, and mosque on this planet. Because honestly, that’s exactly how it should be.

From your mouth to God's ears; "...thy kingdom come..."
In this weird, mysterious world we're all stuck in, it ain't always true that all that glitters is gold, and it definitely isn't true that everything that stinks is complete garbage. You need "X-ray vision"—or just an open heart, I guess—to really see the face and the backside of what serves us and what just rubs us the wrong way. It's all about knowing when to peek at one thing and run for the hills from the other; "...thy will be done..."

That is exactly how the Church—whether it's Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, whatever, or even cults—has behaved and continues to behave; they've always adjusted themselves to suit their own interests and benefits.

So what's the problem when someone else does the exact same thing?

Life is colorful in everything, including this famous "spirituality," whatever that means to anyone.

A supermarket full of colorful items: buy, sell, hurry up folks, we're almost out! 😁

We will keep sharing ourselves more and more and more... until we finally return to our true Self.
It’s all a game, and this Life is a game—funny, tragic, and beautiful.

The universe is really just a reflection of who you are.
If you can just stay open and gentle—that’s really how the whole universe works.
If you’re living with a closed mind and a rigid heart—well, that's exactly how the universe is going to feel to you.
If you’re divided within yourself, then everything around you—the whole universe—is going to feel just as fractured.
If you’re truly unique, then the entire universe is one-of-a-kind too.
Your truth isn't necessarily mine.
Just because you see things one way doesn't mean I have to see them that same way—and that’s perfectly fine.
If you change your perspective, the whole truth changes right along with it.
Change the truth, and you’ve basically teleported yourself into a whole different reality.
Open your eyes and actually look!
Open your ears and listen up!
Just accept everything!
Just let it all go!
Take it all in!
Be like water—formless and fluid.

I couldn't agree more.
The way a person thinks and acts—that’s something we all recognize, no matter where you go. It's pretty much universal.
Human behavior is honestly pretty predictable—it’s measurable, too—and if you know what you're doing, it's incredibly easy to manipulate.
It’s actually pretty well understood what makes people tick—what drives them, what keeps them up at night, how they tend to react when things get intense—you know?
Time is, more than successfully, I work in applied psychology.
If you take a little more time to really dive into the Bible, You'll see—it’s really about finding a way to rise above those repetitive patterns we all fall into. It addresses how to actually transcend the cycles of human behavior that most of us are just stuck in.
Claiming you’re somehow outside her boundaries—honestly, that sounds a little bit of a stretch to me.
I honestly don't think there's any basis in reality for insisting that all 8 billion of us are these completely individualized, one-of-a-kind behavioral units. It just doesn't hold up.

Real, true insight only comes from within—everything else is just dead knowledge. It’s nothing more than someone else's version of the truth that we end up swallowing whole without ever actually thinking for ourselves first.

Honestly, I feel like all this focus on building up our intellect doesn't actually give us anything real—it just pushes us further away from who we truly are. We end up getting this sense of arrogance, thinking we actually know what we're talking about when, in reality, we don't know a thing.

Searching for answers out there in space is really just the first step—and honestly, it’s a necessary one. But that journey only matters because it eventually leads you to the next stage: the realization that all those answers were already inside you all along. You don't find the truth out there; you realize that you actually *are* the answer.

What kind of blasphemy did they just drop in there? Regarding those spiritual truths—they just tossed them out.?
And who exactly told you that?

So, what’s the deal with all those other gospels that didn't make the cut? You know, the ones that aren't part of the four in the New Testament—the ones that were basically left out because of the church leadership and politics back in the day?
What’s the deal with the Gospel of Thomas, the Nag Hammadi library, and all that?

Spiritual warfare is a heavy thing—it demands way more from you than just some superficial intention or a passing interest. It’s a real grind.

Who told you that—or who even convinced you—that it’s going to be that difficult?
What exactly is this whole "spiritual warfare" thing—and why does it even have to be a "warfare" in the first place? 🤷

Christianity might not have produced a billion people, but it certainly produced thousands of saints. Honestly, if you just try to live out even one of the principles that inspired them—or just attempt to follow their lead—I guarantee you'll see some real spiritual progress.

A non-saint declaring someone else a saint... man, if that isn't just how things work. It’s got to be that way. 😬

It’s all just a game... honestly, there's no point in taking any of it too seriously. 🙂

Look, I get it... at first glance, church can seem pretty boring.
But true spiritual growth isn't about chasing some cheap thrill—you know, that instant rush where everything flashes before your eyes or you feel some weird cosmic buzz. It’s actually about how much it changes you deep down—how it connects you to your own conscience and opens your heart up to the people around you.

Who told you that, though? Where exactly did you read that it works that way?

This has been such an incredibly interesting and high-quality discussion,
really hats off to everyone here for providing such beautiful and thorough explanations!

Just sitting here, dwelling in the silence between these words—it’s pure bliss. 🙂

@Matthew Evans 👍

@hollowpuma762 👍

Elizabeth Sanchez2 said:I've got other authors I prefer...

Would you mind sharing—and totally fine if you'd rather keep it private—who those other authors are that you prefer?

p.s. ...for me personally, I find Anthony de Mello to be such an original thinker and just a really great teacher.👍

@ yakuzza I'm right there with you—really interesting stuff and some great posts here 👍

Amy Brooks12 said:I guess you actually enjoy it when he claims that hell isn't just temporary, but that it doesn't even exist at all. Yeah, right. That sounds like something straight out of a Hollywood script.

It’s honestly ridiculous. Most of what we think we know is just a game of telephone. You hear something from one person, who heard it from someone else, who heard it from some other guy, who then decided to write a book about it. So we read the book, swallow it whole, and suddenly we’re all walking around acting like we’ve mastered some profound "knowledge" or "information." It's all just secondhand noise passed down through a chain of people who probably didn't even get it right the first time.

Exactly. That’s how it goes. You’ve got one group of people just chasing whatever happens to be topping the bestseller lists this week, following trends like sheep. Then you’ve got everyone else—the ones who actually know what's up—who listen to the only Source that actually matters: Jesus Christ.

We really need to get to that point where we encounter the Truth within the absolute privacy of our own souls. No middleman. No barriers. Just direct access.Look, it’s not like the Church can do this for you. It doesn't matter if it's the Pope, a priest, a pastor, a patriarch, an imam, or a rabbi—none of them can pull this off on your behalf. No one else can step in and do the heavy lifting here. You have to reach that point yourself, where you've done the work and finally arrive at the stage where the Truth reveals itself to you.

You’re only half right. Honestly, whoever whispered that in your ear only gave you a fraction of the Truth. If you want the raw, unfiltered, all-powerful, and Victorious Truth, here it is...

There is only one Jesus Christ.

But instead of actually opening themselves up to those experiences, they just end up becoming slaves to their own surroundings. It’s like they get trapped by their environment, which ends up shutting them off from anything new or any chance at deeper understanding.

Everyone who chooses to be clothed in Jesus Christ through baptism doesn't have any business talking about bondage. In Him, there's no such thing as Jews or Greeks, no men or women, and no master or slave. Period.

And besides, who on earth are we to be JUDGING anyone?!

Let’s be real: most true prophets were branded as frauds by the religious gatekeepers of their day. They were persecuted and hunted down simply because their message threatened the status quo and the power those elites held over society. Then, fast forward a few generations, and the children of those very "murderers" and "persecutors" end up repenting for their fathers' sins, honoring those same prophets and giving them eternal glory. It’s pure irony—they end up doing the exact same things to the prophets preaching in their own era that their ancestors did.

Just half-truths and improvisations designed to brainwash people.

Jesus told the Samaritans:

It's just like how Stalinists had no clue they were bowing to a system that would have wiped out brothers like Cyril and Methodius, completely indifferent to the fact that they'd leave everyone illiterate in the process.

What you're actually talking about here are those false prophets, because Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, is the final prophet.
Jesus said:

Watch out for any prophet who refuses to acknowledge what Jesus established, or any modern teacher who tries to elevate themselves above God.

the laziness of his mind

Whose mind? Are we talking about the one you claim knows nothing, or the one that Dr. Jerk calls an “unconscious mind” 😲 which is apparently too preoccupied suffering through these bottom-tier "insights," "awakenings" (if you want to use the jargon from this PDF), and those “out there memories” (in Dr. Jerk’s little vocabulary)? EEEK!

I’m honestly not surprised you're siding with Dr. Jerk while trying to guard yourself against every other "influence." You’re falling headfirst into his "out there" narrative—which, by the way, is a much more sophisticated attempt to dodge responsibility for the millions in legal fees, debts, and malpractice suits he racked up before being kicked off the list of practicing neurosurgeons. And that happened right before his little trip to the "other side." It’s a lot smarter than the attempts made by poor Michael Jackson, who, facing similar private crises, bounced from Judaism to Islam. Hmmmmm... well, this doctor actually managed to pull it off where Jack couldn't: returning from "beyond the veil" with amnesia and somehow managing to fix his pituitary gland back from what was likely, in my opinion, an eternal hell he was probably 😲 EEK creating by squeezing information out of his neurosurgery patients while they were in post-op amnesia.

It would be tragic if it weren't so hilarious.
There is only one Jesus Christ.

But instead of actually opening themselves up to those experiences, they just end up becoming slaves to their own surroundings. It’s like they get trapped by their environment, which ends up shutting them off from anything new or any chance at deeper understanding.

Everyone who chooses to be clothed in Jesus Christ through baptism doesn't have any business talking about bondage. In Him, there's no such thing as Jews or Greeks, no men or women, and no master or slave. Period.

And besides, who on earth are we to be JUDGING anyone?!

Let’s be real: most true prophets were branded as frauds by the religious gatekeepers of their day. They were persecuted and hunted down simply because their message threatened the status quo and the power those elites held over society. Then, fast forward a few generations, and the children of those very "murderers" and "persecutors" end up repenting for their fathers' sins, honoring those same prophets and giving them eternal glory. It’s pure irony—they end up doing the exact same things to the prophets preaching in their own era that their ancestors did.

Just half-truths and improvisations designed to brainwash people.

Jesus told the Samaritans:

It's just like how Stalinists had no clue they were bowing to a system that would have wiped out brothers like Cyril and Methodius, completely indifferent to the fact that they'd leave everyone illiterate in the process.

What you're actually talking about here are those false prophets, because Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, is the final prophet.
Jesus said:

Watch out for any prophet who refuses to acknowledge what Jesus established, or any modern teacher who tries to elevate themselves above God.

the laziness of his mind

Whose mind? Are we talking about the one you claim knows nothing, or the one that Dr. Jerk calls an “unconscious mind” 😲 which is apparently too preoccupied suffering through these bottom-tier "insights," "awakenings" (if you want to use the jargon from this PDF), and those “out there memories” (in Dr. Jerk’s little vocabulary)? EEEK!

I’m honestly not surprised you're siding with Dr. Jerk while trying to guard yourself against every other "influence." You’re falling headfirst into his "out there" narrative—which, by the way, is a much more sophisticated attempt to dodge responsibility for the millions in legal fees, debts, and malpractice suits he racked up before being kicked off the list of practicing neurosurgeons. And that happened right before his little trip to the "other side." It’s a lot smarter than the attempts made by poor Michael Jackson, who, facing similar private crises, bounced from Judaism to Islam. Hmmmmm... well, this doctor actually managed to pull it off where Jack couldn't: returning from "beyond the veil" with amnesia and somehow managing to fix his pituitary gland back from what was likely, in my opinion, an eternal hell he was probably 😲 EEK creating by squeezing information out of his neurosurgery patients while they were in post-op amnesia.

It would be tragic if it weren't so hilarious.
There is only one Jesus Christ.

But instead of actually opening themselves up to those experiences, they just end up becoming slaves to their own surroundings. It’s like they get trapped by their environment, which ends up shutting them off from anything new or any chance at deeper understanding.

Everyone who chooses to be clothed in Jesus Christ through baptism doesn't have any business talking about bondage. In Him, there's no such thing as Jews or Greeks, no men or women, and no master or slave. Period.

And besides, who on earth are we to be JUDGING anyone?!

Let’s be real: most true prophets were branded as frauds by the religious gatekeepers of their day. They were persecuted and hunted down simply because their message threatened the status quo and the power those elites held over society. Then, fast forward a few generations, and the children of those very "murderers" and "persecutors" end up repenting for their fathers' sins, honoring those same prophets and giving them eternal glory. It’s pure irony—they end up doing the exact same things to the prophets preaching in their own era that their ancestors did.

Just half-truths and improvisations designed to brainwash people.

Jesus told the Samaritans:

It's just like how Stalinists had no clue they were bowing to a system that would have wiped out brothers like Cyril and Methodius, completely indifferent to the fact that they'd leave everyone illiterate in the process.

What you're actually talking about here are those false prophets, because Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, is the final prophet.
Jesus said:

Watch out for any prophet who refuses to acknowledge what Jesus established, or any modern teacher who tries to elevate themselves above God.

the laziness of his mind

Whose mind? Are we talking about the one you claim knows nothing, or the one that Dr. Jerk calls an “unconscious mind” 😲 which is apparently too preoccupied suffering through these bottom-tier "insights," "awakenings" (if you want to use the jargon from this PDF), and those “out there memories” (in Dr. Jerk’s little vocabulary)? EEEK!

I’m honestly not surprised you're siding with Dr. Jerk while trying to guard yourself against every other "influence." You’re falling headfirst into his "out there" narrative—which, by the way, is a much more sophisticated attempt to dodge responsibility for the millions in legal fees, debts, and malpractice suits he racked up before being kicked off the list of practicing neurosurgeons. And that happened right before his little trip to the "other side." It’s a lot smarter than the attempts made by poor Michael Jackson, who, facing similar private crises, bounced from Judaism to Islam. Hmmmmm... well, this doctor actually managed to pull it off where Jack couldn't: returning from "beyond the veil" with amnesia and somehow managing to fix his pituitary gland back from what was likely, in my opinion, an eternal hell he was probably 😲 EEK creating by squeezing information out of his neurosurgery patients while they were in post-op amnesia.

It would be tragic if it weren't so hilarious.
Oh yeah, totally... I’m just loving this, I’m practically shaking with excitement here... 🤣 🙄

All jokes aside for a second 😁, first off, I don't actually know what this American neurosurgeon is saying in the video (I haven't watched it) or what his book covers—though I’ve heard his name pop up here and there while browsing the web. I haven't read his book "proof of heaven" myself (though now I might, since you gave such a glowing recommendation—and honestly, usually if someone gets attacked and dismissed right out of the gate, it means they're onto something. Thanks to you, it clearly sounds worth a read; maybe you've even convinced someone else too, go girl!! 😁...you definitely have a knack for marketing) 😲 😬

Real life isn't just some Hollywood fairy tale with a perfect happy ending; it involves genuine agony, anxiety, and those deep questions that keep us up at night and leave us feeling restless and heavy. We live in this complex, dualistic world of joy and sorrow, bright moments and dark moods, depression and elation—it's all tangled together, constantly shifting and bleeding into one another. It reminds me of what that 18th-century Swedish scientist, philosopher, and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg once noted—that reward and punishment are internal states rather than external consequences, meaning heaven or hell are things we carry within ourselves.

At the end of the day, whatever Dr. Eben Alexander is saying and writing is his own experience. Whether we choose to believe him or not is entirely up to us; he shares his story, and we decide if it rings true. It’s pretty simple—people have to decide who they will place their faith in. These kinds of stories can certainly be pure fiction or part of some "spiritual" business scheme designed for quick cash, but they could also be absolutely true, perhaps even sent by Him.

Yeah, that's exactly how people who chase bestsellers operate, while others listen only to the one true Source, which is Jesus Christ.

Goodness, goodness 🙂, you really don't realize how much you've been fed all sorts of vague info, theological interpretations of the Bible, and random ideas about God. You're so shaped by your culture, social trends, and the environment you grew up in... it all blends together in you (and in me, don't think I'm any different). It’s so obvious because you're mocking someone you don't even know and throwing out arguments you haven't truly studied—just things you've picked up from news clips, media, or an acquaintance. You don't actually know the person being discussed here; you're just talking and judging. Your posts really show how full of prejudice we humans can be toward anything we don't understand or anything that doesn't fit our specific way of thinking.

It’s only half right—because whoever whispered that into your ear only gave you half the Truth. The raw, powerful, Victorious Truth is that

there are no intermediaries where the One

and Jesus Christ is just one.

Nobody "whispered" this to me—this is my own personal experience, coming from deep within my very Being.

I agree with you that there are no middlemen when you're facing the One. You come to know Him just as you are born and die; you pass through those gates yourself. All the teachers, all their doctrines, books, and sacred writings can only lead you to the threshold, but you have to cross that threshold on your own to enter where the One resides.

All those who clothe themselves in Jesus Christ through baptism don't know bondage, because in Him, there are no Jews, no Greeks, no male, no female, no slave, no master.

Baptism is just a formal act, pure symbolism that doesn't mean a thing if it doesn't come from within—if the Holy Spirit doesn't descend from above. For someone like that, a thousand baptisms and pouring water over them is totally useless.

And I actually agree with Jesus Christ 😁 who says there is no Jew, no Greek, no male, no female, no slave, no master. 👍

Half-truths and improvisations meant to brainwash people.

And you think you aren't being brainwashed? You think you haven't been stuffed full of half-baked, half-true information by The Church?

What you're actually talking about are those false prophets, because Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, is the final prophet.
Jesus said:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

Watch out for prophets who don't recognize what Jesus established, and for the teachers of their time who exalt themselves above the living God.

Muslims claim—well, they believe—that Muhammad is the final Prophet; according to Islam, he is the last messenger of God. He doesn't exalt himself above the living God, but rather gives Him all the glory and praise. And yet, those same Muslims respect Jesus Christ as a messenger of God and speak of Him with great and profound reverence... so where does that leave us?!

Don't try to tell me what Jesus said. He said plenty of things—including that we should love our neighbors and even our enemies as ourselves.

Jesus came to fulfill the Law or the Prophets precisely because a certain moment in human history had arrived—a shift in consciousness among a specific group of people that would allow them to accept (to understand) His teachings and follow Him. It's because now, Jesus turns toward humanity and toward love for mankind. Jesus fulfilled what Moses began. In the Old Testament: "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth," and in the New Testament: "love your neighbor as yourself."

I mean, I can't say I'm surprised you're a fan of Dr. Jerk...

Look, I'm not saying I'm for Dr. Alexander, nor am I against him—if you can't wrap your head around that, then there's really nothing more to say.

electrictinker26 said:Based on what I’ve learned—though I haven't experienced it firsthand—hell is a reality, and one could potentially spend an eternity there. However, if you have managed to do even one good thing in your lifetime, there remains a possibility for healing.

Then all those teachings of yours don't mean much, my friend... 🙂

electrictinker26 said:I had a thought today. We are actually terrified of the unknown. To cope, we construct frameworks of knowledge to act as a sort of survival guide. We use it to define who we are in this moment. While knowledge is useful, I find it can be incredibly limiting. If we aren't out there exploring for ourselves—if we just swallow what others tell us—we end up trapped inside someone else's worldview. We might dismiss our own instincts as foolish, when in reality, they aren't stupid at all; they’re just different, more evolved, or perhaps more creative. As Einstein said, imagination is often more important than knowledge. My fear is being pushed outside the boundaries of what "established" knowledge allows. So many people doubt their own intuition simply because they don't know what else is possible, which keeps them from truly expressing themselves. We fear being ourselves because we haven't fully grasped our own potential, or because we worry about how others will react if we apply what we know in unconventional ways. We wonder if we'll fit in. Does anyone get what I mean? It's that indescribable feeling—the kind you just sense without needing to overthink it. It's the realization that while our minds have limits, we are accepted exactly as we are: perfectly limited and yet entirely whole.

That’s a really interesting perspective, and honestly, it could very well be true.

I'm with the bold 👍

Amy Brooks12 said:Thanks for the entertainment, but this guy is basically asking us to believe in things he can't even explain himself—things that religion has already had answers for ages.

Dr. Eben Alexander doesn't really come across as some heavenly messenger bringing about a "shift in the scientific community." Honestly, he feels more like a protagonist from a cheesy Hollywood movie where people constantly find ways to escape the wreckage of their old lives through grand acts of self-reinvention.

If these encounters with hyper-reality were legitimate, they should be based on the life you've actually lived leading up to that moment. I mean, if you're descending into hell, shouldn't you get a warning to fix your act if you don't want to end up stuck there forever? And the flip side—that feeling of merging with Love... we don't even need to go there.

But seriously, I don't get how Eben Alexander's "consciousness" guided him through a beautiful valley of butterflies during his seven-day "vision," considering the man had a history of medical malpractice and even lost his license to practice neurosurgery because of it!

What a jerk! Giving everyone this one-size-fits-all experience. EEK!

Fake prophet.

But what has religion actually explained? 😬Aside from making a huge mess with its own dogmas and rigid rules—creating all this confusion that just clouds things over and pushes people away from the light and the simplicity of the Truth itself.
Religion tried to claim the Truth in such a distorted, broken way—trying to turn it into a concept, a dogma, a set of rules... and they really messed that up. You can't own the Truth or trap it in a mold; you can't take something infinite and just limit it. It’s like how freedom and love can't be forced to serve the petty, selfish interests of this material world, and that’s really what we're talking about here. It feels more and more to me like religion was built by people who had plenty of book learning, but lacked the actual experience of what the mystics and prophets were talking about. So, they just complicated everything with their dogmas and rules, turning it into a total mess that nobody can make sense of—and then, of course, they served it up to the public just to look smart and educated, because they "know" things, because they are "close" friends with God 😁 while all we got in return from "our" religions were endless religious wars, bloodshed, and constant fighting among people of different faiths.

Eben Alexander looks less like a messenger from heaven bringing what he calls a "shift in the scientific community," and more like a typical character from an American movie, where people always find a way to escape the ruins of their old lives through some grand act of self-reinvention.

Just a bit of friendly advice... don't judge a person by their looks, or a book by its cover... otherwise, your comments end up sounding pretty superficial. 🙂

Encounters with ultra-reality should be based on the images of the life you lived leading up to that experience. For instance, if you're descending into hell, that should serve as a warning to change your ways if you don't want to end up there forever. And vice versa—the experience of merging with Love... but let's not even go there right now.

🙂

They "should," they "ought to," it's "not like this, it's like *my* religion says"... blah blah blah... You just can't limit the infinite and try to squeeze it into narrow human frameworks and limited ways of thinking and perceiving... honestly, we don't have a clue. Most of what we know is just stuff we heard from someone else, who heard it from someone else, who told someone else, who wrote a book, which we then read and absorbed, puffing ourselves up with "knowledge" and information... It's just a never-ending game of telephone.
Jesus also said that once we realize the Truth, that Truth will set us free. Real knowledge comes from within—from our very own souls. It’s necessary for us to encounter the Truth in the intimacy of our own being, without any middlemen. Neither the Church, nor the Pope, nor a priest, nor a pastor, nor a religious leader, nor a rabbi, or anyone else can do that for you. A person has to reach a point where the Truth reveals itself to them... Maybe the main issue is that when the Truth *is* revealed to some people, they immediately try to translate it into their own "language"—basically trying to cram it into religious dogma and the specific way of thinking they were conditioned by. But instead of opening up to the experience, they just become slaves to their own surroundings, which shuts them off from new experiences and even deeper insights.

I honestly don't get how Dr. Eben Alexander's conscience led him to such a beautiful valley of butterflies during his seven-day "vision" or experience—especially when we know he dealt with several cases of medical malpractice in his life, which actually cost him his license to practice as a neurosurgeon!

What a jerk! Trying to force a one-size-fits-all experience on everyone, yikes.

False prophet.

And besides, who are we to JUDGE anyone?! 🤷

Anyway, most real prophets were seen as frauds at first by those who dominated the religious life of society back then. They were persecuted and even killed because their messages and actions threatened the influence those leaders held over society. Later on, the children of those "murderers" and "persecutors" would repent for the sins of their fathers and give honor and eternal glory to the prophets—never quite grasping the irony of it all, since they ended up doing the exact same things to the prophets preaching in their own time.

Susan Price30 said:🤣 jerk, it is.

Colton Burpo: The boy who visited heaven

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Admin, please move me to the right thread if one exists. I’m curious about this and similar stories—do you actually believe in this stuff?

* btw I've never heard of this person. 🤷 Also, maybe explain a bit more about who we're talking about... I wouldn't have had any clue what was going on if Amy Brooks12 and Amary hadn't explained the situation and who was involved. 🙏

Again, I'll say it: who are we to JUDGE?!🤷

So what if you haven't heard of the person? Big deal... and for next time, maybe it would be better to do your own research instead of waiting for someone else to explain who it is and what happened. That way, you can see for yourself if the facts are right, and you can avoid taking on other people's opinions, biases, manipulations, or half-baked conclusions. Otherwise, without putting in your own effort to investigate, you just automatically adopt someone else's view and file it away in that specific little mental compartment they intended for it.😉

btw, I want to tell the author of this thread that whether you believe or not is absolutely irrelevant here. If we start focusing on believing or disbelieving, we're just playing a game of "telephone," making up all sorts of mental constructs just to support our own theories or assumptions. In the end, we don't gain anything except maybe a nice little story or a fairy tale...

What we really need to do is make our own breakthrough toward the Truth and into the Truth—but until that actually happens, we’ve got to find a way to shed all this extra, unnecessary baggage... 😉

Edward Fisher86 said:Confused? 🤣
Are the ones who actually think the confused ones to you?

What is this, some kind of cult or 🤷

Yeah, you caught us... nice job! 👍

We are actually a secret reptilian sect from the Andromeda Galaxy—specifically the URANUS840949fjvcxiis III 2327 sector—and restlessdriver42 is our all-seeing Supreme Leader and High Priestess for the Noah's Ark era. These posts are actually her encrypted messages that you Earthlings aren't allowed to decode under any circumstances, otherwise our master plan to conquer your planet will be totally ruined. That's why everything seems so cryptic and why we don't want anyone thinking too hard—our greatest weapon is just keeping the "naive" masses of Earth completely baffled. 🙂

p.s. hopefully they don't kick me out of the cult for spilling the truth

restlessdriver42 said:(Haha, me again with this broken quoting... I really need to check the manual... :P)

It isn't a cult, haha... it requires thought. I spend my entire life thinking; it is the most productive thing we can do with the minds we've been given. 🙂
People simply get defensive when they feel attacked... 🙂 which happens, as I noted earlier, when we identify too closely with our own thoughts. It creates the illusion that WE are those THOUGHTS. We forget how much more we are than just fleeting ideas or weak attempts at conceptualizing this existence...

Just ask. I will do my best to provide an answer...

I am sorry if you felt unwelcome... or like you "weren't allowed" to ask questions... 🙂

Hmm...?! 😍

''We don't realize that
the very thing that most
prevents us from thinking
clearly—
is nothing other
than thoughts themselves!

A bunch of useless thoughts.''

Here's an interesting link, for anyone interested:

https://skolazadusu.wordpress.com/ca...ija-i-disanje/

Edward Fisher86 said:It doesn't really matter who I quoted; anyone can jump in on any thread.

A better life...I can only tell you what that looks like for me... it’s peace... inner peace... when I don't carry hatred for anyone, when I don't feel agitated, or nervous, or worked up... when I'm not sad. For me, everything boils down to emotions. Of course, that is always directly tied to my surroundings, the people around me, and the various situations life throws my way... things that trigger certain thought patterns... which then evolve into specific emotions...
I eventually reached a pretty clear conclusion: obviously, a person cannot control other people, and as for life circumstances, there's only so much we can do, but even that is largely out of our hands! I moved past it because I wasn't satisfied with that realization... life is just messy and complicated... you just have to accept it.

What we truly crave isn't material; it's emotional.
Material things are just intermediaries used to reach desired emotions. We all differ in how we pursue them, the tools we choose, and how we attempt to either achieve a feeling or avoid one. It happens both externally and deep within ourselves.

In the opening of the film Annie Hall by Woody Allen... he tells a joke along these lines:

Two women are sitting at a resort and one says, "Ugh, the food here is terrible!" and the other replies, "I know, and the portions are tiny!"

He follows that up by saying that’s essentially how he views life. It's full of loneliness, misery, and suffering, and it ends far too quickly.

And with that, almost everyone can relate to that sentiment at least once in their lives. I found myself agreeing with it, even if I couldn't quite embrace it.

Maybe occasionally someone might stumble upon that idea, but generally speaking, that is the worldview of the neurotic character played by W. A.
There is also this:

The horrible and the miserable

The horrible and the miserable. I feel that life is divided into the horrible and the miserable. Those are the two categories. The horrible are like, I don't know, terminal cases, you know, and blind people, crippled. I don't know how they get through life. It's amazing to me. And the miserable is everyone else. So you should be thankful that you're miserable, because that's very lucky, to be miserable.

If you actually want to find a solution... it’s possible. Personally, I’ve managed to carve out a sort of answer for myself through books I've read, which eventually led me to this way of thinking: since we have zero control over other people (unless we decide to threaten them somehow :P), let alone our life circumstances... the only way to successfully handle "unfavorable" situations is to bring my own state of consciousness to a point where I train myself so that my emotions and moods aren't—at least not as much as they are now—conditioned by anything outside of myself!

That is a whole topic in itself, and I can't go on writing extensively about it without basically authoring a book... so if you want to ask me something specific regarding that... just ask! 🙂

I don't have a solution in the form of a recipe; it's more of an ongoing adjustment.

On that note, what would passive consciousness development look like?

And regarding the story about the clerk, the woman, the mother, and the boss... I see you missed it, but I put the word "trust" in quotation marks specifically to highlight that I consider it a relative concept. 🙂 I should have probably put the entire phrase in quotes: "the person who can be trusted!"

I saw the quotes, but they didn't serve any purpose, because it was stated: but that clerk didn't know.... so putting what she didn't know in quotes has no effect, since the importance of something she lacked was already clearly indicated at the moment the decision to trust or not was made.

As for arguing... it isn't about arguments... once you reach that certain mental state... it starts to feel like all debates and arguments are redundant... if someone knows what I'm talking about... they know it because they have felt it or are feeling it, not because I had great arguments in a debate and "convinced" them to "join my side" :P

Just look at it as rambling; you'll feel better. Nobody is trying to persuade anyone to change their views or anything like that.

That could sound like an excuse... like, maybe I'm just being silly and don't know how to write anything smart or back up my "views" with something concrete like "arguments"... so I'm just blathering, Haha... and even if that's the case... so what!?! Why should it bother anyone... that some silly girl felt connected and happy and decided to write some silly text about love between people... why would anyone feel the need to try and convince her that it makes no sense and, in whatever subtle way, negate an obvious attempt at positivity? Just because it's stupid? Or lacks good arguments? Why do we have to justify the desire for positivity, for happiness... or even for silliness?

Well, you don't have to. I don't see anyone asking for justification for anything, but this isn't a place to just dump your ideas and record your emotions; there are specific threads for that, and you could have joined those if you didn't want to hear echoes 🤷

It seems from the tone your posts are taking that your real intention isn't actually to try and understand how other people think... if I'm wrong, my bad...it’s hard to truly read a person through a screen 😁

Let's just let each other live.

Why bother trying to read people? Just focus on the text; you'll deal with less nonsense and have more substance to work with.😁

Are you trying to act like some high-and-mighty politician? 🙄 😁

People just get defensive when they feel attacked...🙂 and that happens, like I said before, when we identify too closely with our own thoughts...it creates this illusion that WE are our THOUGHTS. And we forget even more...just how much more we are than fleeting ideas and weak attempts at conceptualizing this life...

Just ask. I'll do my best to answer...

Sorry if you felt unwelcome... or like you "weren't allowed" to ask questions...🙂

In reality, we are our thoughts in a way... and no passing idea goes without leaving its mark. As for that feeling of being attacked, that's complete nonsense—it's just pure insecurity.

You put it so beautifully—what we’re truly searching for isn't material, but it isn't even emotions either, because those are just fleeting, too. It goes much, much deeper than that. Why? Because we tend to chase only the "good" or "positive" feelings, becoming obsessed with holding onto them. In doing so, we’re basically running away from the "bad" or "negative" ones, and that resistance is exactly what creates mental pain—this sense of suffering that is, at its core, an illusion. By fighting against what *is*, by identifying so closely with our passing thoughts and feelings, we just end up trapped in a loop. That’s why true acceptance is so vital; when we finally accept reality as it stands, we can become the observer of it all. We step back from the background noise, from the mental anguish and the lies that come along with it.

There’s a beautiful way an old Sufi mystic captured this idea:

The Inn

A human being is an inn.
Every morning, someone arrives.
Joy, depression, malice,
some passing state… they all visit
like unexpected guests.
Welcome them all warmly!
Even a crowd of sorrow
that storms through your house,
carrying off all your furniture,
greet it nonetheless
as if it were an honored guest.
Perhaps it was clearing the way
for some new delight.
Dark thoughts, shame, spite…
meet them all with a smile
at the front door
and invite them in.
Be grateful
for every single visit,
because every guest is
your guide from the beyond.

Rumi

It feels more and more to me like what we actually want is self-realization—to stop being slaves to our own conditioning, our fleeting moods, and those illusory limits we feel when we identify too much with the body, the mind, or physical form. What we’re really after is a glimpse beyond all this transience, into the very essence, the heart of Life/God/the Universe/Nature (call it whatever resonates with you). But you can't reach that through the rational mind; it can only be done through the HEART.
As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry so perfectly put it: "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

What we are all moving toward is simply existing in inner Peace and unconditional Love with ourselves and "others" (I put "others" in quotes because there is no "other"—we are all One. You, me, everyone else—the same Life vibrates within all of us). We *are* that inner Peace and that unconditional Love; it is our true nature... the nature of pure, boundless, and unconditional Consciousness.

Sometimes we just get stubborn and let our selfish egos take the wheel, but that's why we have the greatest Teacher of all: Life itself. It always finds a way to bring us back to the right path—sometimes gently, and sometimes with a loving slap in the face.🙂

So, what would "passive consciousness development" look like?

It’s what most people on Earth are doing, though I wouldn't necessarily call it "passive development"—maybe it's more like passively observing life... which is probably why there is so much suffering and misery in the world.

Consciousness always moves forward, from a speck of stardust to a human being. There is no backward slide. Even if we, as a species, were to fail in a cosmic sense, it wouldn't matter; consciousness would simply manifest through some other form, and the cycle of evolution would continue. 😉

I saw the quotation marks, but they weren't working, so it was phrased like this:But the clerk didn't even know.... then putting what she didn't know in quotes doesn't really change anything—it's already pretty obvious how much that missing info mattered when she was making her decision about whether to trust the deal or not.

Look, just think of it as venting; you'll feel better that way. It’s not like anyone is actually trying to pressure anyone else into changing their minds or anything.

I’m telling you, you’re overthinking all the little things—the quotes, the commas, the periods... plus, I highly doubt you see it all as just "venting"... hehe 🙂

Stop focusing so much on the people; read the text more, and it won't bother you as much—you'll probably pick up more grammar along the way too.

That’s exactly why—because we only focus on the text, we lose sight of the actual living person who wrote it. At the end of the day, you're just engaging with words on a screen 🤷

In a way, we really are just our own thoughts... no passing idea ever goes completely unnoticed. And that whole thing about feeling attacked? That's nonsense, just pure insecurity.

We are, and we aren't, and honestly, we're way more than both—all three at once, right? Confusing, isn't it? 🙂

Edward Fisher86 said:This whole thing is a perfect example of being closed minded... basically, the parachute failed to deploy.

Well, now you've gone and insulted me 🙂